Parallel Reality
by brokenmoonlight
Summary: Noel and Julian get transported to another world, and are shocked to discover that something they thought fictional is actually very much alive - and how will Howard and Vince feel when they find that they have been written into a crazy comedy show?
1. Worlds Apart

**A/N: First of all, bad me, for starting yet another story – I can't help when inspiration hits! Don't worry though, I won't neglect the others. I got the idea from the few stories that have been written about Howard and Vince meeting Noel and Julian, yet the concept of this one is very different. It might seem a little weird at first, but stick with it – although, I have to say, I'm not quite sure where it's going to go yet! Also, as far as I know, the psychic imagination theory is something only my friend and I have talked about, so if you try and research it and can't find anything, then that's why!**

**Disclaimer: The Mighty Boosh is the brainchild of Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. I own only the original characters and my overactive imagination!**

**xxxx**

**'A multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise all of reality. The different universes within a multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes. The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered.' - Wikipedia. **

Some people believe completely in the theory of parallel worlds, in just the same way some people believe we are not alone in **this **universe.

There are many different theories; the Bubble theory, the M-theory – but no one apart from a select few (not necessarily in every universe) know what the truth **really **is. In this instance, a little thing called 'psychic imagination' has also been tossed into the mix for potential consideration. 'Psychic imagination' can be explained relatively easily, although it has yet to be proven, studied or even really talked about. Think of a book you love, or your favourite film or television programme, and then say to yourself 'what if that were actually real?'. Well, it may very well be. You see, sometimes, when these things are written, they are not always the work of a person's imagination alone. Sometimes, a seed is sown from something that really exists, in another world, so very far away from our own. What the writer thinks they have made up, their characters – they are actually living, breathing worlds and living, breathing people, who are controlled by their own thoughts and actions. The reality is not always an exact replica – there may only be one out of two people who really exist, or there may be extras. Certain characteristics may be different and lives may have taken a slightly different path. But, the essence is there, and that, eventually, is what gets picked up on.

What if, one day, two of these worlds collided?

Confused? Then read on...

xxxx

Parallel Earth – June 5th

A young woman, with glossy dark red hair and deep chocolate eyes, flapped about in her room, looking frantically for something seemingly of great importance. She let out a frustrated sigh and stomped out into the living room, where she was met with the impatient stare of an older man with out-of-control hair and small, hazel eyes. She stopped in front of him, hands on her hips, thinking she had very good reason to be panicking, although he probably wouldn't agree – in fact, he **definitely**, wouldn't agree

"You ready? We were supposed to have left by now."

The girl ran a hand through her hair and sighed again. "I can't find them!"

At that moment, a banging sound came from one of the other rooms. The man rubbed a hand over his face. "Vince! Will you please hurry up!"

Vince popped his round round the bedroom door. "Have either of you seen my straighteners? I had them earlier..."

The other man nearly exploded. "You don't need your straighteners! We're going to be camping! Where are you going to plug them in, hmm? Shoving them into the soil won't get you very far!"

Vince's bright blue peepers widened to gigantic proportions and his jaw dropped almost unattractively. Surely he hadn't heard right? "Are you telling me I won't be able to straighten my hair for a whole weekend?! No way!"

The young woman waved her arms in the air at the older man. "That's what I've been trying to tell you! I can't find **my** straighteners either!"

The man looked at her with a very bewildered expression on his face. "Didn't you just hear what I said?"

"Yes, but they're travel straighteners – run off a gas cylinder!"

Vince reappeared at the door. "Did you just say what I think you said? Where the hell did you get those? And why don't I have any?!"

The woman grinned. "Because they're not out yet – Danny got them for me!"

"Danny? So they're bound to be dodgy, then."

"Shut up, Howard. So, anyway, you can borrow them – when I find them," she said, grinning at Vince.

He nodded in appreciation. "Genius."

"For Christ's sake, can we just go!"

"I haven't finished packing yet!"

"Roseanna, I swear to God..."

"Hey, Rose! What do you think of this hat?"

"Eh..."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Howard grabbed fistfuls of his hair, trying to resist the urge to scream. Why, whenever he had something planned, did this always happen? Hadn't they had days to pack? Hadn't he told them last night that they were leaving at ten a.m sharp? Hadn't he said 'you'd best get your stuff together now or you'll just be moaning when you have to get up earlier in the morning to do it. I'm not waiting for you if you're not ready.' Hadn't he? He had. So, why was he still here?

"Right, Vince, shift it - now. Rose, you've got five minutes. I'll help you look."

Rose rolled her eyes and went back to her bedroom, nearly tripping over a pair of shoes that were left in the doorway. Vince hadn't moved, and Howard noticed this, getting even more annoyed.

"Go on, then!" he cried, waving a hand in his direction.

Vince pushed himself away from the door-frame and wandered over to the exasperated man, a small, sympathetic smile on his face. Howard eyed him suspiciously as Vince put his arms around his neck.

"You need to relax. It's a holiday – we don't need to keep to a schedule."

"But – **oomph**!" Howard's protestations were quickly cut off before they began when Vince assaulted his lips with his, drawing him into a deep kiss. He almost instantly melted into the smaller man, and Vince smiled against him as he felt Howard's hands on his hips, pushing him back against the wall. When Vince pulled away, grinning cheekily, Howard shook his head at him.

"Better?" Vince asked, tongue peeling out naughtily between his teeth. Howard wanted to bite it off, but he settled for chuckling lightly instead, despite himself.

"How do you do that?"

Vince looked up at him innocently, twirling a strand of hair around his finger. "What?"

"You know very well what, little man," he smirked, kissing him on the forehead. "Come on – you go finish up and I'll help my dozy little sister look for her straighteners."

xxxx

Earth – the universe as **we** know it – June 5th.

At the sound of the doorbell, Noel jumped up rather over-excitedly and ran to answer it. To say he was bored was an understatement – he'd just spent the past two hours reorganising his CD collection into alphabetical order, a task which would usually be more associated with Julian, his best friend and partner – in the professional sense of the word. Speaking of Julian...

"Hey!" Noel reached an arm out and yanked his mate through the door. "Thank God!"

"Why, what's wrong?" Julian asked, frowning as his arm got bashed against the door-frame.

"Boredom, Ju – that's what's wrong. You're rubbing off on me, y'know. I've just alphabetised my music! Do you know how wrong that is?" he shuddered.

Julian smirked. "We'd best get you out then, before you turn into me completely. Pub?"

"Yeah, all right."

xxxx

It didn't take Julian long to notice that Noel was no longer beside him – the silence gave it away pretty quickly. He turned round, and saw his friend peering through the railings of the park they were walking past, eyes squinting as he tried to focus on something. "Noel?"

Noel stuck his arm out and waved him over, not moving his eyes away from whatever had caught his attention.

"What is it?"

Noel pointed to a set of trees. "D'ya see that?"

Julian strained his neck as he tried to see what his mate was looking at. "See what?"

"There, between those two trees – something glistening."

Julian shook his head – trust Noel to get distracted by something shiny.

"I'm going to take a look." Noel shot off towards the park entrance and legged it towards the small, woodland area before Julian could say anything, so he settled for slowly following him instead, more to humour him than anything. He pulled at his collar as the hot sun sweltered against his neck. He really couldn't wait to get a cold beer and...

Noel had frozen, his face a mixture of awe and terror. He said nothing as Julian came up beside him, only just hearing him say 'bloody hell.'

Hanging in the air was what looked like a mirror of cracked glass, the sunlight bouncing from the shards in every direction, splaying out and making it sparkle white and silver, almost like it was moving.

Noel decided it was, and he wanted to run away, but something was pulling at him, an ethereal singing in his head, enticing him closer. The light made his eyes sparkle unnaturally, his black hair reflecting the silver rays.

Julian wanted to pull him away, but he too was entranced. He couldn't explain it, and he knew it could be potentially dangerous. After all, it wasn't everyday a shimmering... what was it? Some sort of gateway? Well, anyway, they didn't appear every day, in fact, they appeared... never.

"Noel..."

"I know," Noel replied, feeling the need to whisper as he edged closer, eyes fixed straight ahead. "We should go."

"I don't think I can."

"Me neither."

But fate had already decided that even if they had tried to run, it wouldn't have done them any good, for barely a second later a magnetic force shot out and dragged them both through, consuming them with light. Then, with a pop, the gateway disappeared, leaving only a static tingling and the taste of metal in the air.


	2. Festival Frolics

**A/N: I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter! Thanks for your lovely reviews, and enjoy chapter two! I don't know if there actually is a band called 'Mirth', but I figured mixing known bands with made-up ones wouldn't matter, being a parallel world and all!**

**xxxx**

Noel and Julian gasped at the same time, hands simultaneously flying to their chests as they tried to breathe back in the wind that had been knocked out of them.

"What the hell...?" Julian spoke first, understandably shaken and more than slightly horrified. Next to him, the already pale skin of Noel seemed to have gone almost translucent. He couldn't talk, just stared at the scene in front of him with wide, confused eyes. Julian stepped forward slightly, and as he did the opening of the portal behind them vanished, leaving a sizzling in the air that temporarily made his hair stand on end. He winced as a thousand noises and smells assaulted his senses all at once, and he shook his head, eventually clearing the haze enough to see that he and Noel were actually stood amongst some trees on the edge of a field, a massive campsite spread out in front of them, and beyond that...

A music festival. They were at a music festival.

"Julian?"

He looked down to see Noel tugging on the bottom of his shirt.

"Yeah?" he breathed, not quite trusting his voice. Noel was staring straight ahead.

"Where are we?" He sounded like a small, frightened child, and Julian had the urge to put an arm round him to comfort him, which he would have done, if he wasn't still frozen in shock.

"Festival...?"

Noel managed to break his hold on the scene in front of him to look up at his friend. "Yeah, but where?"

Julian swallowed heavily. "No idea."

It was true – nothing looked familiar. There were no identifying landmarks, no signs, nothing – apart from the music that wafted on the warm breeze, and Julian realised, with some sense of relief, that he at least recognised the song, if nothing else.

"Ruby."

"What?"

"Kaiser Chiefs."

"Oh – yeah."

Julian scratched his head. "Should we... I mean, do you think we should take a look? Seems safe enough."

Noel nodded, then said. " This is still earth, right?" He knew it sounded stupid, but then again, it wasn't everyday you got zapped through a strange portal, so he figured he may as well ask. If gateways to other worlds existed, then he supposed it could be possible that the Kaiser Chiefs were from another planet.

Julian shrugged and moved his head around, not even noticing that what he'd previously said could contradict that. "Doesn't seem to be anything to suggest that it isn't."

Noel took a deep breath, feeling a little braver. "Right then." He started forwards, Julian following warily, eyes darting about all over the place, untrusting.

A few minutes later they were traipsing through the campsite, picking up snippets of other peoples conversations in a bid to discover where they were. Voices were speaking English, and for a moment it looked as if they were simply in another part of the country, until Noel, brain-box of everything music, said;

"Hang on. There aren't any festivals on at the moment – not till later on in the month."

And then:

"Wait – did that guy just say he was running out of euros?"

Julian stopped walking, his eyes widening, and Noel bumped into the back of him. "What did you just say?"

Noel pushed his hair back out of his face. "I said -"

"Euros? Are we in France or Germany or..."

"Well," Noel said, licking his lips in thought. "I've only heard people speaking English."

Julian frowned. "Yeah, that's true."

They stood looking out across the site for a moment, until Julian spotted what looked like a bar in the distance. He had an idea.

"Let's get a drink, shall we?"

xxxx

Vince collapsed on the ground, upper body in the tent, lower body and legs stretched out across the cool grass. He breathed in the musty smell that had built up where the tent hadn't been used for a while, and reached a hand up to run a finger along the thin material. He wasn't a huge fan of camping, but he loved festivals, and all the hotels in the surrounding area had already been booked up. Besides, Howard and Rose both insisted that it added to the festival experience, so he grudgingly agreed. He supposed it wasn't so bad now he had the use of Rose's straighteners, which had eventually been found underneath the cat. Did cats use straighteners?...

"Ouch!"

Vince looked up to find Howard looming over him, chuckling at the look of indignation on his face. "It's not funny – you kicked me!"

Howard shook his head, still smiling. "Don't be so melodramatic – it was just a tap." He got down on his knees and stretched out on his front next to his pouting boyfriend, running a hand over the part of his thigh where his foot had caught him. "Better?"

Vince continued to pout, but a smile tugged at his lips.

Howard moved over him and placed his mouth to Vince's, pulling him in for a lingering kiss, one hand roaming over the smaller man's chest.

Vince had never been good at resisting Howard, especially when he kissed him like he was now, hot and wanting and...

"Ugh, get a room."

Roseanna slipped through the door of the tent, swigging from a bottle of water and rolling her eyes at the amorous couple.

Vince giggled as Howard rolled off him, the bigger man sighing heavily and glaring at his sister.

"What? Don't look at me like that. I don't want to see my brother doing **that** any more than you want to walk in on me having -"

"Gah! Stop!" Howard cried, screwing up his face and putting a hand out towards Rose, who pulled a face.

"Exactly. And until Naboo gets here, or some delectable indie boy catches my eye, you're stuck with me. Besides," she said, dropping the now empty bottle on the floor, "I hear the fun fair's pretty good." She grinned at Vince, whose eyes lit up brighter than the sun. Howard groaned.

"Fine. But don't go shovelling loads of sweets down your throat before going on the waltzers – you nearly threw up on me last time," he said, directing his gaze at Vince, who just stared back at him innocently.

xxxx

"Howard!"

Howard spun round at the call of his name, smiling as he saw Naboo traipsing towards him, bottle of something luminous in one hand, burger in the other.

"Found the tent all right then?" he said, noticing the shaman's lack of luggage.

"Wasn't hard to miss," he lisped, implying the glitter that, much to Howard's chagrin, Vince had glued in blobs all over the outer shell, the sun bouncing off it and making it look like some sort of tent temple, a Mecca that was, to Howard's annoyance and Vince's delight, drawing people to it like moths to a flame.

"Naboolio!" Vince and Rose cried at the same time, stumbling towards him and Howard, high on candy-floss and toffee apples and adrenaline from where they'd been dropped straight down from the top of the Detonator.

"All right," he said, in that indifferent tone of his – but his eyes were sparkling.

Vince turned to Howard, managing to look mischievous and cute at the same time, and put his arms around the bigger man's neck, kissing him lightly. "So, Naboo's here now..."

Rose and Naboo mock gagged.

"Seriously, I know you two are still in your 'honeymoon' phase, but all the time?"

"Come on, Rose," Naboo said, taking her arm, "Mirth are playing soon and I missed them last time." He led her away, a few seconds later twisting his head to look back at Howard and Vince and shout, "don't go getting into trouble!"

Howard grinned and took Vince by the hand, pulling him through the crowds of excited people and back through the maze of tents, towards their own, shiny beacon. Vince tripped along with a stupid grin on his face, eyes slightly glazed.

Reaching their destination, Howard slowed, both of them acting as normal as they could so it didn't look too obvious to the other campers what they were about to get up to, although, luckily, most of them had migrated to one of the many stage areas. He unzipped the door and they scooted in, closing it again hastily. When he turned to face Vince, the Electro Poof was sat back on his haunches, looking at Howard lustfully, and he pounced on him, pushing him to the floor and kissing him for all he was worth. They rolled around, pulling at each others clothes, discreetness and decency long forgotten, by Vince anyway, and Howard had to quickly put a hand over his mouth to stop him crying out in a way that even the most innocent passer-by would have known wouldn't have been in pain. When he was sure it was safe, Howard removed his hand and replaced it with his lips. Vince moaned and bucked against him, Howard's tongue doing all sorts of wondrous things that left him breathless, and he grabbed at his lovers hips, bringing them down against his and grinning naughtily at the sounds the friction pulled from Howard's mouth, who moved his head to bite down on the patch on skin between Vince's shoulder and neck to dissipate the noise, but the action made Vince gasp loudly, so it didn't really work.

They melted together, whispering words of love and adoration to each other, the outside world, for the time being, ceasing to exist.

xxxx

"Wow," Vince breathed, panting harshly as he floated slowly back down to earth. He rolled onto his side to look at Howard, who was smiling at him in pure, unadulterated bliss, his face glowing.

Howard lifted a hand and trailed it lazily down Vince's side, the skin there flushed and sweaty, and Vince shivered at the touch, snuggling up to his lover and sighing in contentment.

They stayed like that for a while, simply enjoying the feeling of being held, hands gently stroking hair and lips pressed sweetly to cheeks and foreheads.

Finally, Howard sat them up and reached for the items of clothing that had been strewn haphazardly around the tent.

"Come on – I know you want to see The Human League."

Vince squealed and threw his t-shirt over his head, yelping two seconds later when he realised that he'd actually put on Howard's much less trendy one, pulling it off and throwing it at the Jazz Maverick as if he'd been burnt.

Howard shook his head and laughed.


	3. Confusion

**A/N: This chapter isn't very descriptive, it's mostly just dialogue, as everyone tries to work out what's going on! Thanks for reviewing – it makes me very happy!**

**xxxx**

"Hey, Naboo! I'm going to the bar – want anything!" Rose shouted over the noise of the band and the screaming of the crowd.

Not bothering to even try talking back, Naboo simply waved his empty bottle at her and Rose smiled before weaving her way over to the bar, nearly tripping as she dodged an overzealous head-banger. When she got there, the queue was huge, so it was a relief when she spotted Howard and Vince leaning against the end of the bar, drinking bottles of beer – which was weird, she thought briefly, because Vince **never** drank beer.

"I was wondering when you two would emerge," she said, with a sly grin.

Vince blinked at her. "What?"

Rose laughed. "Don't give me that wide-eyed innocent look, mister."

Howard frowned. "Do we... do we know you?"

Rose shook her head. "Whatever. Listen, Naboo and I are over there," she said, pointing at a random place in the crowd, "so if you... oh, actually, I suppose you're going over to see The Human League, aren't you."

Vince's face lit up. "The Human League are here?" 

"Naboo?" Howard said, an odd look on his face.

Now Rose was confused. "Okay – what's going on here?"

"Um..." Howard started, looking just as bewildered. "Are you... a fan?"

"Huh? Look, fine, play your little games. I'll see you guys later back at the tent, and you'd better not have left it in a mess." Rose made to join the end of the queue, but Howard put a hand out and stopped her. "Howard! Naboo's waiting for me, I need to get drinks." She shrugged him off, but he latched onto her again. "What!"

"What did you just call me?"

"Never mind that," Vince put in. "Where are we?"

Rose looked like she was about to scream. "Are you trying to be cute? 'Cause it's not working."

Howard put his hands on her shoulders. "No, look – we're being serious. There was this... thing, and now we don't know where we are."

"Howa -"

"Stop calling me that! You do realise that's just my character's name, right? I'm Julian, and this," he said, exasperatedly indicating his friend, "is Noel."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I see. This is some weird role-playing game you're doing. Well, don't drag me into it – I don't want to be involved in any kinky thing my brother and his boyfriend have got going on." She walked off, shaking her head and mumbling to herself about how strange they were sometimes.

Julian turned back to Noel, only to find him staring after her. "What are you doing! She might be pretty but she was mental, and you're not available!"

Noel frowned at him. "I'm not looking at her like that, you idiot! It's just... well, don't you think there was something about her? All right, so she might have been saying all those things, but her eyes... I dunno, she seemed genuine."

"Oh, for goodness sake – what do you think this is? We haven't been transported into the Boosh, you know."

Noel grinned at him. 

"What? We haven't! And stop looking at me like that. We **wrote **the Boosh – it doesn't exist!"

"We didn't think there were other worlds, but here we are."

Julian thought for a second. "True, but even before all this happened – the idea of another world was more probable than being sent somewhere that's been made up!"

Noel finished his beer and put the bottle down on the bar. "Come on – let's see if we can find her and her Naboo-a-like."

"Have you gone insane?"

xxxx

Rose, having more or less pushed her weird encounter with her brother and Vince to the back of her mind, was now jumping up and down with Naboo, dancing about in time to the music. "This is awesome!" she yelled above the noise.

"I know!" Naboo shouted back, grinning like a lunatic.

Rose jumped round when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me..."

"Oh! So you've decided to join us! What happened to The Human League?" She pulled Noel into a one-armed hug and started jumping with him. Noel quickly pulled back, staring wide-eyed at Naboo.

"Mike?"

Naboo ignored him. He hadn't even noticed that they'd turned up, his eyes on the band in front of him.

"Mike!"

He felt someone pulling of the back of his top and turned round. As soon as he caught Noel's eyes, his face fell. "Oh, this is not good."

"What you doin' here, bruv?"

"I'm not..."

Julian was looking between them, his face a mixture of relief and bemusement. Rose, on the other hand, was currently quite worried by the look on Naboo's face.

"What's wrong?"

Naboo grabbed her arm and started pulling her through the crowd. "You two," he said, looking over his shoulder at Julian and Noel. "You'd better come with us." 

They walked away from the stage, battling through the throngs of people, past bars and relaxation tents, through the funfair, round the campsite, until, eventually, they came to the edge of the field. 

"Naboo, what's going on?" Rose demanded when they'd stopped walking. Naboo didn't look at her, he was staring straight at Noel and Julian. 

"You're not from here, are you," he stated, rather than asked.

Julian laughed. "Okay, Mike – I think this joke's gone far enough."

"I'm not called Mike," Naboo said, flatly.

Noel looked at him – **really **looked at him. "You're not my brother?"

"Naboo!"

He sighed. "Rose, this man here, he's not your brother – and that's not Vince."

"What the hell are you talking about!"

Naboo put his arms out. "All right, everyone calm down. I think I know what's going on here."

xxxx

Vince swayed in time to Together In Electric Dreams, Howard's arms around him from behind. Right there, at that moment, he was completely content, and he turned in Howard's embrace and smiled up at him.

"Having fun?" Howard asked, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"Brilliant." Vince turned back round, reaching up a hand behind him to stroke Howard's cheek, the both of them completely unaware to the trouble that was brewing not so far away.

xxxx

"So, what you're saying is, we've been given some sort of psychic connection with this world? And that's making us write about you, only slightly differently?"

"**Slightly**?" Julian said, staring at Noel. "Howard's got a sister and he and Vince are bumming each other! And look at Naboo! Baggy jeans and a band t-shirt!"

"Ju – calm down."

"So you understand?" Naboo said, fixing them with a look much like a parent does with a child.

"Yeah," Julian said, running a hand through his hair. "So, how do we get home?"

"Only certain people know about parallel worlds and gateways, and they use that to universe hop. Not a great idea, but not illegal either. The portals are usually well hidden but, unfortunately, this time, it didn't turn out that way. It **will** open again, but I couldn't tell you when – although it's not advisable to spend more than two weeks in another world; it weakens the line between the universes. You'll have to stay with us until it reappears."

Julian sighed heavily.

"Aw, come on Ju – it won't be that bad, surely?" Noel said, putting a comforting hand on Julian's arm.

"Suppose not. It's just... well, we both have partners, and I have children! What'll happen to them?"

"Relax. When you go back through, you'll arrive back at the same moment you left – no one will know any different."

"Well, I guess that's something."

Rose, who had been very quiet throughout all this, said, "I can't believe my brother and his boyfriend are in a TV show – that's pretty genius," she chuckled, finally taking in and excepting what was going on. 

Noel laughed. "Yeah, but they're not... you know. Anyway – formal introductions. I'm Noel Fielding, and my partner in crime here is Julian Barratt."

"Roseanna Moon – you can call me Rose - younger sister and far cooler sibling of Howard – no offence," she said, looking at Julian.

He smiled at her. "Don't worry – not hard, is it?"

"Well, he can't be that bad, can he?" Noel said, winking at his friend. Julian tried to hide a smirk, his lips pursing as he tried not to smile.

Rose grinned. "Wait till you meet your dopplegangers – that's going to be **very **interesting," she said, thinking of how Howard and Vince were going to react.

Julian turned to Naboo. "How will we know when the portal thing opens again?"

"I've got a device back at the flat. When we get home, I'll fly back here on the carpet and plant it where the opening was. It'll send me a signal when it opens again, but we'll only have twenty-four hours before it closes."

Noel rubbed his hands together. "I suppose we'd better enjoy it while we can then." Then he thought of something. "Just out of interest – how did you know we weren't Vince and Howard?"

Naboo shrugged. "Saw in your eyes, didn't I. That, and your auras are different."

"Oh, right."

"Hang on – if you use money called 'pounds and pennies' in your world, how did you get served at the bar?" asked Rose.

Noel grinned, and Julian rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I see – you've got Vince's charm then."

"Don't even go there," Julian said, but he smiled all the same.


	4. Up, Up and Away!

**A/N: I'm not sure my block has completely lifted yet, so this chapter probably isn't that great. But I'm sorry for the wait!**

**xxxx**

Vince yawned widely and snuggled into Howard's chest, breathing in his scent and sighing happily. Howard smiled down at him fondly and ruffled the smaller man's hair gently.

"Time for bed, little man?"

Vince clutched Howard's arm and leant against him heavily. "I'm not tired yet."

Howard chuckled. "I think you are. Come on." He took Vince's hand and started to pull him along, but Vince pulled back and pouted at him. "Vince..." He looked at his boyfriend with mock annoyance, knowing very well that he was just playing him, a cheeky sparkle dancing across his baby blues. People jostled around them, some wearily making their way towards their tents, and others heading towards one of the many bars. Howard tugged Vince's hand again, but he was still resisting, looking at him with wide-eyed innocence, so Howard did the only thing he thought he could possibly do at that moment, which was to pick Vince up in one swift movement and sling him over his shoulder, which caused the little electro prince to give a half-hearted objection, one that quickly turned into a giggle.

"Howard!"

Howard ignored him and just grinned, carrying Vince through the crowds, yelping occasionally and scolding gently when Vince saw fit to bite his backside in playful protest.

When they arrived back at the tent, Howard unceremoniously dropped Vince to the ground – who squealed and gave Howard a slap on the arse – and unzipped the tent door, surprised to find Rose and Naboo sitting there with their bags packed.

"What's going on?"

Rose shifted nervously and Naboo took this as his cue. "I've got some shaman business to attend too, and I need Rose's help."

Howard eyed them suspiciously, getting jolted to one side slightly as Vince pushed passed him.

"You're leaving?"

"What do you need Rose for?" Howard asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Naboo sighed. "Well, I haven't got a familiar, and I need a hand, and Rose offered, so..."

"It'll be fine, Howard. We'll see you back at the flat, yeah? And just think – you two get to be alone all weekend!" Rose said, fixing her brother and Vince a brilliant smile.

Howard had to admit that that idea was rather appealing, and he looked at Vince, who winked at him. "Yeah, okay." He turned to Naboo and eyed him seriously. "Don't let her get hurt."

"Howard..."

"Rose."

Rose sighed and gave him a hug. "See you Monday."

When she and Naboo had left the tent, Vince threw Howard a mock glare. "You dropped me on the floor."

Howard just grinned and grabbed Vince by the shoulders, pulling him in for a searing kiss.

xxxx

Julian and Noel stared at the small square of carpet in Naboo's hands incredulously, and the tiny shaman rolled his eyes.

"Watch," he said, and he muttered a few words, the square expanding until it resembled a rug, floating magically just above the ground.

"Wow," Noel grinned, "now **that's **cool."

The four of them had walked back to the woods, away from the prying eyes of the festival-goers, talking conspiringly. Having formulated a plan of escaping back to the flat without Howard and Vince, they were trying to decide just what they were going to do next. So far, nothing had really won them over.

"Right," Naboo said, his manner surprisingly business like. "On you all get."

Noel and Julian glanced at each other nervously before clambering on, the carpet dipping slightly as they did so, and soon they were soaring off into the night air, clutching at each other as the carpet flew higher and higher. Julian blinked down in amazement, his face a mixture of fear and adrenaline fuelled excitement.

"Wow," Noel breathed, looking awe-struck at the view spread out before them. Lights shone brightly, bathing the earth in a warm, orange glow. The moon sat high and proud in the sky and the stars twinkled. Trees swayed gently in the breeze, and every now and then a bird would fly passed, so close that Noel swore he could feel the beating of its wings. "It's beautiful."

Julian smiled at the look on his friend's face, his hair flying out behind him.

"When we get home, I'm going to paint this." Noel whipped out his phone and switched the camera on, snapping at the scenery. "Not ideal, but it'll do."

"You guys okay?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder from where she was sitting at the front of the carpet with Naboo.

"Genius," Noel said, really only half-listening as he continued to take photos.

Julian gave Rose a nod and grinned in Noel's direction. "yeah, we're fine."

Rose smiled and turned back round, and Julian leant into Noel and whispered; "this isn't a dream, is it?"

Noel switched the camera off and pocketed his phone, leaning his head against Julian's shoulder. "No, Ju. It's all completely real."

xxxx

Naboo manoeuvred the carpet close to the ground and everyone jumped off, and with a click of his fingers, Naboo shrunk it back to sample size. He watched as Julian and Noel ran up to the shop window and excitedly peered through the glass.

"Come on, then," Rose said, pulling out her key and opening the door next to the shop. Julian stopped her.

"Can we go in this way? I just... I mean, if it's okay?" he said, looking at Naboo expectantly.

The shaman nodded, and Rose moved over to the shop door, grinning as she opened it.

"So, this is all the same too, then?"

The boys scampered in and Rose switched on the light. Julian, usually the more reserved of the two, laughed gleefully.

"Sort of," he replied, watching as Noel picked up a pair of vintage boots.

"Can I buy these?" Noel asked. Then he laughed, and once he'd started, he couldn't stop, and soon Julian was joining in too, until they were hysterical, falling onto each other and clutching at each other's shirts.

Naboo and Rose shared a look from where they were stood in the doorway, but the laughter was infectious, and they were soon joining them, the noise ringing out into the quiet night air.

"Oh, God," Julian moaned, holding his sides. "We're sorry, it's just..." he trailed off, his body shaking.

Noel jumped about slightly, trying to shake the laughter off, his heels clicking loudly on the ground.

After a few moments, they were all calm enough to begin forming coherent sentences again.

"Are you gonna do this again when we get up to the flat?" Naboo asked, amusement still evident all over his face.

Noel grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. We'll be on our best behaviour now, won't we, Ju?"

Julian ran a hand over his stubble. "We most certainly will."

But, as they were led up the stairs, they couldn't help but clutch each others hands tightly in anticipation.


End file.
